ATTENTION: Important information!
Please note that personal appearances at the Foreigners' Registration Office are only possible by appointment. You have 2 options for making an appointment:
1. Here via our online appointment management, or
2. Here by e-mail.
Please note that it is not necessary to come in person to hand in documents, application forms, etc.. The letterbox at the main entrance is available for this purpose.
To contact us on other topics, please continue to use our general e-mail address. You can find the link here.
You do not need to make an appointment to change your residence permit to a new passport (transfer). For this purpose, we are available at the Kreishaus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8:30 - 12:00 in room 451 and on Thursday mornings in room 450 from 08:30 - 12:00 and in the afternoon in rooms 450 and 451 from 13:30 - 17:30. Please see further information at the bottom of this page.
ATTENTION: Important information from 01.05.2025
Due to a legal change from01.05.2025, only the acceptance of digital, biometric passport photos is permitted.
You can have a digital biometric passport photo taken at certified photo studios. You will then receive a QR code to present to our authority. We will retrieve the passport photo digitally. Alternatively, you can have a digital passport photo taken as part of the storage of your fingerprints at the Servicepoint (room 380/2) for a fee. However, please preferably use a QR code. This will avoid waiting times.
Photographs for residence permits and tolerated stay permits are excluded from this regulation.
From now on, please submit your applications for an electronic residence permit and travel documents to usonly with a digital passport photo and without a paper-based passport photo. This will help you avoid unnecessary additional costs.
In addition to the Ludwigsburg District Office, there are 6 other immigration authorities in the Ludwigsburg district:
the large district towns of
- Bietigheim-Bissingen (with Tamm and Ingersheim)
- Ditzingen
- Kornwestheim
- Ludwigsburg
- Remseck am Neckar
- Vaihingen/Enz (with Eberdingen, Oberriexingen and Sersheim)
They are responsible for the foreigners who live in these towns.
Every foreigner entering the federal territory or wishing to reside here requires a residence permit. This does not apply to citizens of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
If you are a citizen of one of these countries and have questions about your right of residence, we will be happy to provide you with information on request.
For persons who are already legally resident in Germany, applications for the issue or extension of a residence permit can be submitted together with any necessary documents via the mayor's office of the place of residence. This saves travel and waiting times.
Persons wishing to enter Germany from abroad can enquire at the German embassy or consulate in their home country whether they require a visa to enter the country. You can find an application form to print out here.
Information (not for persons who live in the above-mentioned cities or wish to move to them)
Information on individual cases
Letter group | Telephone number |
| A - Bog | 07141/144-66152 |
| Boh - Jat | 07141/144-66153 |
| Jau - Pl | 07141/144-66155 |
| Pm - Z | 07141/144-66156 |
Information on asylum law and for Ukrainian nationals
Letter group | Telephone number |
| A - Z | 07141/144-66151 |
Individual topics:
Declaration of commitment
Please use our electronic application option if possible
Please preferably use our electronic application form. Via this link will take you directly to the online application form.
Declaration of commitment for a short stay
If you invite a foreign visitor to Germany for a short period of time, you can submit a declaration of commitment for your visit. Your visitor will need such a declaration of commitment especially if they are applying for a short-stay visa and cannot pay the costs of their stay in Germany themselves. Once issued, the declaration of commitment is generally recognized by German missions abroad for up to 6 months.
Please note that the decision as to whether and with what validity a visa is issued lies exclusively with the German mission abroad. The foreigners authority has no influence on this. A declaration of commitment is no guarantee that a visa will be issued.
What is a short-stay visa?
With a short-stay visa, your visitor can stay in Germany for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. If a shorter duration is desired, please state this explicitly. If no information is provided, we will assume 90 days. Please also indicate whether multiple entries are planned/desired. If regular visits are planned, your visitor can apply for a multivisa at the German diplomatic mission abroad.
The visa is valid for private visits, tourist trips and business trips. It is also known as a "Schengen visa" or "tourist visa". You can find more information on short-stay visas on the website of the Federal Foreign Office at Short stays up to 90 days (Schengen visa) - Federal Foreign Office (External Linkauswaertiges-amt.deExternal Link)
What costs are involved?
With the declaration of commitment, you undertake to cover all costs that the state may incur as a result of your stay in Germany. These include:
Costs for living expenses (e.g. for food, drink, housing, clothing, medical treatment, medication or care), costs incurred if the authorities have to forcibly return your visitor to his or her home country or costs of social benefits incurred by the state (such as for housing/care in the event of illness).
Information on the Visa Information System (VIS):
The VIS is a system for the exchange of visa data between the Schengen states. It may be necessary for the responsible German consular mission to collect your personal data in the VIS and store it for a maximum of 5 years in order to examine the visa application of the person(s) for whom you have submitted the declaration of commitment (the foreigners authority does not store the data directly when the declaration of commitment is submitted). You must give your consent to this. At the same time, you will be informed about the data storage and the information options. Further information can be found in the European Union information sheet on the VIS.
Forms to download
- Bescheinigung_für_Selbstständige.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 77.41 KB
- eAT_Abholung_Vollmacht.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 13.89 KB
- Wohnungsnachweis.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 63.49 KB
- Erklärung_zum_Beschäftigungsverhältnis.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 316.74 KB
- Mustervollmacht_Abholung_eAT.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 569.19 KB
- AE-Antrag6.0.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 325.77 KB
- Arbeitgeberbescheinigung.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 78.04 KB
- Formular___18_Abs._2_Nr._4a_AufenthG.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 128.97 KB
- Antrag_auf_Umverteilung12.2025.pdf filetype: PDF , filesize: 137.69 KB
Electronic residence permit
The electronic residence permit in credit card format was introduced on September 1, 2011. It replaces the previous adhesive label in the passport and contains a chip in which the personal and biometric data are stored.
Important: The eAT is not a substitute for a passport. It is only valid together with a valid, recognized passport or passport substitute.
Processing and issuing an eAT is much more time-consuming than before. As a rule, you will have to visit us twice. You can find a printable application form here.
- As before, you can submit the application via your local mayor's office. Please make sure that you apply for an extension before your current residence permit expires. The residence permit will then remain valid until our decision, even if the eAT cannot yet be extended until the old residence permit expires. If your application is submitted late, your stay would be unauthorized. If you need a new residence permit because you have received a new passport, please send us the old and new passports via your local mayor's office. This will help you avoid waiting times and long journeys.
- After your application has been checked, you will be notified by us and given an appointment to have your biometric data recorded (fingerprints taken). All applicants aged 6 and over must visit us for this purpose.
- Once the biometric data has been recorded, we will commission the Federal Printing Office in Berlin to produce the eAT. It is not possible for the foreigners authority to issue the eAT. It usually takes a maximum of 4-6 weeks for us to receive the eAT from the Bundesdruckerei. It is not possible to speed up the process.
If you wish to collect the electronic residence permit for a family member aged 18 or over, we require a power of attorney from you. You can find a form in .pdf format here.
Security, design elements and the individual functions of the German electronic residence permit are explained here in this flyer in .pdf format.
How can I change my previous employer during my stay for the purpose of employment?
In order to change employer, a new request from the Foreigners' Registration Office at the Employment Agency is necessary. Please have your new employer fill out the following form and send it to us. You can find the form here in .pdf format.
Information for Ukrainian nationals
Important information for Ukrainian nationals:
With the Ukraine Residence Permit Continued Validity Ordinance (UkraineAufenthFGV) of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of 28.11.2023 (amended on 22.11.2024), the continued validity of residence permits issued and still valid on February 01, 2025 was ordered in accordance with Section 24 (1) of the Residence Act. All residence permits that meet these criteria will remain valid until 04.03.2027.
An application to extend the residence permit is not required in these cases. It is also not necessary to go to the Foreigners' Registration Office. Certificates confirming these facts cannot be issued due to the enormous workload at the Foreigners' Registration Office. You can find additional information here.
Redistribution or change of a residence requirement
I have a residence permit (or a tolerated stay permit) and would like to move to another city or another federal state. What do I have to consider?
Before you move, you must submit an application to change or cancel your residence obligation. Please submit your application early enough and allow sufficient time for processing (e.g. until you start work). You may not move without the consent of the immigration authority at the place of relocation. Until a decision has been made on the application, your current immigration authority remains responsible for all questions and measures under immigration law, including the extension of your residence permit or tolerated stay permit. If you have already moved before the approval of the relocation, this is not legal. Any costs incurred must be borne by you.
The application for a change of residence must be submitted to your local foreigners authority. The form for this can be found here in .pdf format. Please note that further documents may be requested as part of the processing of your application.
What is the accelerated skilled worker procedure
The Skilled Immigration Act has created an opportunity for employers to enable skilled workers from outside the EU/EEA to enter Germany more quickly and with less bureaucracy. The aim is to facilitate entry into the German labor market. To apply for an accelerated skilled worker procedure, proof of an employment contract or a concrete job offer, a qualification recognized in Germany and, if applicable, German language skills in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages must be provided. The involvement of the Federal Employment Agency is also usually essential. The skilled worker can work in an occupation for which the acquired qualification qualifies them. This means that employment in related professions is also possible. However, unskilled and semi-skilled occupations are excluded. With vocational training recognized in Germany, the residence permit also allows skilled workers to pursue qualified employment in all professions for which their qualification qualifies them. You can find more detailed information on the accelerated skilled worker procedure here.
The following documents are required to apply for the accelerated skilled worker procedure in accordance with Section 81a (2) of the Residence Act:
1. the authorization of the respective skilled worker for the employer in .pdf format
2. the sub-authorization of the management for an employee entrusted with the procedure, if applicable, in .pdf format
3. the declaration on the employment relationship (ECB) in .pdf format
Further evidence may be required. In this case, we will contact you.
Please note that companies that are members of the IHK can also submit the application to us via the IHK. Information on this can be found here.
Please also note that the State Agency for the Immigration of Skilled Workers (LZF) has been a point of contact for the accelerated skilled worker procedure alongside the immigration authorities since 01.04.2025. On the LZF homepage you will find extensive contact options as well as a convenient online application route.
You can reach the health and nursing professions team on 0711/904-39999
You can reach the team for all other professions on 0721/926-9555
At beratung[at]lzf.bwl.de you have the option of contacting the LZF by e-mail.
Further information:
Central Office for Foreign Education. Here you will find information about qualifications acquired abroad.
Adaptation of your residence permit to a new passport (transfer)
Please bring the following documents with you during the above-mentioned times:
- New passport + old passport
- Your current electronic residence permit
- 67,- Euro processing fee (payment is only possible with Girocard)
- Current biometric photo with QR code (not older than 6 months!)
Due to a legal change from 01.05.2025, only the acceptance of digital, biometric passport photos is permitted.
Therefore, please bring a biometric photo with QR code for digital capture (alternatively, the photo can also be taken on site at our premises; however, a fee of 6.00 euros will be charged for this).
Children aged 6 and over must appear in person to give fingerprints!
